


The Defender

by KESwriter



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Post-Episode: s12e10 The Timeless Children, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:53:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23222809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KESwriter/pseuds/KESwriter
Summary: The Doctor has been in solitary confinement for two years, and is a shell of who she used to be. Dal Erga, formerly a high profile lawyer demoted to defending Judoon prisoners is intrigued by the case. Little does know, that he is actually another one of the Doctor's forgotten regenerations and his wife keeps the chameleon arch where their kids can't break it. It is no coincidence he got this case as more secrets about the Doctor are unraveled. Meanwhile, Jack has been tracing Artron energy throughout the universe, as he doesn't believe the Doctor is dead.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I started this story two weeks ago, and I keep coming back to it. I hope you enjoy what I'm trying to come up with.

Dal Erga

I used to the king in the intergalactic courtroom. Wearing ridiculous flowing robes to court as a sign of my status, I’d defend the mightiest in the universe. Planetary rulers, quadrillion dollar companies and A-list celebrities, were typical for me. For five years, my name was associated with every high-profile case in the universe.

How the mighty have fallen. Now I am stuck defending Judoon prisoners. The fall from grace came as a result of the discovery of my overbilling of clients. I argued I deserved more for providing premium service, but it fell on deaf ears. So here I am, four years later, in my increasingly ragged suit with graying ginger hair, defending the dregs of society.

I looked at my latest file. Name: Doctor. Crime: Murder dating back ten years ago. Murder cases were always interesting, at least. The victim was a mercenary named Meer Telon, who sold data to the Daleks on planetary weaknesses. It sounded like the guy deserved it. The defendant claims she doesn’t remember committing the crime. This promised to at least hold my attention for a few minutes.

The guards scanned me for weapons as I stepped on to the prison meteor. One then led me to the door of my client.

“Sho Do Quo” I said to the guard. 

It was a polite way of saying: Let me in.

“Sho Do Go,” the Judoon said back.

It was his polite way of saying: Make it Quick.

The Doctor had blond hair cut close to the scalp and was wearing a red prison jump suit. She sat against a wall staring blankly at the opposite wall. It didn’t appear that she recognized my presence.

I sat down opposite her.

“Doctor,” I said. “I’m Dal Ergal, your attorney representing you.”

She didn’t say anything, and kept staring into space.

“Doctor,” I said. “You claim in your statement that you don’t remember murdering Meer Telon. Would you care to elaborate on that?”

The Doctor didn’t react at all.

I sighed and looked through her file. She was two years into her life sentence of solitary confinement. That explained some things.

“Doctor,” I said. “I’m going to see about getting out of solitary once a week? Does that sound good?”

I stood up and got closer to her.

“Doctor, I’m here to help.”

She suddenly cowered as if I had slapped her.

“Get away from me,” she whimpered.

“I’ll see you in a couple weeks,” I said.

She didn’t respond.

I stepped out.

Judoon. I truly hated these intergalactic brutes. They saw the law in black and white, with no room for additional interpretation. Which caused problems like this.

I walked to the warden’s office, and entered without knocking.

“Ro Do Ko!” the Judoon yelled.

“Ro Do Ko my ass,” I said. “It is against intergalactic law to hold a non-violent prisoner in solitary for more than three weeks.”

“Ro Do Ko!” the Judoon yelled. “You didn’t read the whole file Ergal. Prisoner Three Six Nine One, made multiple attempts to escape and incapacitated a guard while attempting to steal an evacuation pod. That is grounds for four years of solitary confinement.”

“Can’t you review that policy every few months?” I asked. “She seems so docile right now.”

The warden stood up and got in my personal space.

“Do not underestimate the Doctor,” the Judoon said in a lethal tone. “She is among our most dangerous prisoners.”

“I’ll see myself out,” I said. 

I walked out with as much ferocity as I could muster.

As I walked through the labyrinth underbelly of the meteor to find my transport vehicle, I read more of the Doctor’s file. The Doctor was feisty at first when she came in. Went on hunger strikes, refused to bathe, started fights, among other things. She was also tech-savvy enough to steal a spoon and fashion it into a laser diverter. Her hair was cut short after she tried using it in an elaborate knot system to create a prison code, that led to a riot and an attempt to escape using one of the emergency pods. She was a shell of who she used to be.

I found my vehicle and added it to my case load in the passenger seat. This was one of the few cases where I still could muster enough energy to feel something for. Something was off about all this. I just wasn’t sure what.

…

“Daddy!” my kids shouted excitedly.

Sem was my ten-year-old daughter and Ese, was my eight-year-old son. Sem’s had fiery red hair and Ese had purple hair like his mother.

“Did you defend and murderers?” Sem asked.

“Did you subpoena anyone?” Ese asked.

“Did you file any injunctions?” Sem asked.

I have a problem with talking too much about work at home. At least they’re still too young understand exactly what they’re asking.

My wife Nara appeared. Dressed in a blue turtleneck and jeans, with her purple hair tied up in elaborate knots, she was the picture of casual elegance. 

“Give your daddy some space,” she said.

“Did you get a search warrant?” Ese asked.

“Ese!” 

“Sorry,” he said.

“Kids, I’ll tell you all about my day at dinner,” I said. “Now go wash up.”

They quickly hugged me and raced down the hall. 

I plopped onto my favorite chair.

“So, how was work?” Nara asked as she pulled a drink out of the fridge.

“I got a new case. A woman who claims she doesn’t remember committing the murder but is too far gone after two years in solitary.”

“Two years in solitary is a long time,” she said.

“I guess this woman, her only name only one word, Doctor—”

There was the breaking of glass. Nara had dropped the ale bottle.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “My hands are still a little greasy from making red oodle.”

“Oh, my favorite!” I said. “Don’t worry about it.”

Nara suddenly kissed me.

“You’re too good for me, you know that?”

“No reason to cry over spilled ale,” I said.

“I’ll go get a broom,” she said.

My eyes lingered lazily around the room. I glanced at a high shelf where Nara kept things she didn’t want broken by the kids. One was an elaborate glass hourglass filled with gold beads. I once tried turning and she slapped my hand. She said it was only to be turned when someone in the house died. I didn’t understand all of her family rituals, but I knew better than question things she was serious about.

“Drink?” she said.

“Thanks,” I said. 

Sipping the ale, I couldn’t get the image of the Doctor of out my mind. I had a dozen other pending cases and years ago, I would have considered this beneath me. Some how I felt drawn to her story. For the first time in years, I felt part of my old self coming back to life.


	2. Chapter Two

Nara:

I snuck into Dal’s office at night. He never locks away his case files. It took me more time than I’d like to find the Doctor’s case. Opening it, I took pictures of the documents, so I could read them later.

Returning to bed, I laid by Dal’s side. This had been the moment I was dreading for nearly a decade. Despite Dal’s work troubles, we lived a happy life. We had two beautiful children. Life was good, and this case threatened to destroy everything.

…

“You didn’t sleep well,” Dal said as I prepared the kid’s lunches.

“Just general anxiety,” I said.

“If there’s anything I can do, let me know,” he said as he sipped his coffee.

“You have enough on your plate without worrying about me,” I said.

“I’ll always make space for you,” he said and lightly kissed me on the cheek.

I loved him as the Doctor, and as Dal. We were a match made in the stars. I lived in terror of losing him.

The kids emerged and I poured cereal. 

“I have a spelling test today,” Ese said proudly. “I’m going to ace it.”

“You’re a good speller like your mother,” Dal said.

“I have a math test today,” Sem said. “I’m good at math like you, daddy.”

He laughed.

The conversation continued and I just had to smile. This was my family. Spelling and math tests were just part of the norm, something I’d hate to see vanish.

…

When everyone left, I went to my “crafting” shed. Dal insisted I stay home instead of working, even as things were tight. I pulled out my camera and loaded the information from Dal’s files into my computer. What I found left me gasping for air.

I pulled out my long-range communicator. After sending the coded message, I removed the shelving on the back wall. There was a tiny compartment in the bottom right corner that concealed a fingerprint scanner that would only work for me.

The wall broke in two and revealed the TARDIS. Hiding a police box in a crafting shed probably wasn’t the best idea, but we had to make due. I didn’t dare go in, I just needed assurance that it was still there. Then I proceeded to put everything back in place.

My long-range communicator beeped. She was in the area and had selected a place to meet. We couldn’t afford two vehicles anymore, so I quickly grabbed my purse and computer and walked to the nearest shuttle stop.

…

I had to change shuttles twice and walk for ten minutes to get to the Tenebris pub. The place was more of a shack than an actual pub and it smelled horrible. I received my wine in a dusty glass from a burly two-head Borgonian. My contact was waiting in the darkest corner booth.

With jet-black hair cut in a bob, Anna Lee Fulton was dressed in a black leather coat and jeans. There was an edge to her that wasn’t there twelve years ago.

“I had to spend a pretty penny on a transwarp to get here,” she said. “This better be important.”

“Meer Telon,” I said.

“What about him?”’ she asked icily.

“The Judoon arrested a person for his murder who goes by the name Doctor. And guess how I know all this?”

Anna Lee let out a string of profanity so long, I would have had Dal sleeping on the couch for months, if he said it in front of the kids.

She finally sighed.

“Telon had killed Dillon, before the Doctor shot him. He was going to kill us, if the Doctor didn’t take action.”

“You and I both know that,” I said. “How do we explain that to the brutes without revealing Dal’s identity?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Do you have the file?”

I passed her my computer.

“She’s a blonde,” she said.

“I’m losing count,” I said. “How many Doctors are running around the universe?”

“Now including her, eighteen,” she said. “Not counting the ‘War Doctor.’”

“Oh, this is mad,” I said. “How many Masters?”

“Rumor has it there are nine,” she said. “I’ve only encountered two personally and lived to tell the tale.”

Anna Lee was a British Astronaut from the nineteen eighties who lost contact with her ship during a spacewalk. The Doctor picked up on her distress signal and she chose to travel with Dillon, a reformed Calpackian space pirate, the Doctor, and I.

She fell in love with Dillon as I fell in love with the Doctor. After the Telon’s murder the Doctor chose to go into hiding as I was pregnant with Sem at the time. Anna Lee chose to pursue a career as an intergalactic private detective. We kept in touch clandestinely.

I sighed.

“What are we going to do?” I said. “I’ve built a good life here with the Doctor and the kids.”

“Someone knows more than us,” Anna Lee said. “It’s not a coincidence that the Doctor was assigned the Doctor to defend. I doubt it’s the Judoon.”

“A Master?” I said.

“I wouldn’t rule it out,” she said.

“Do you have the resources to look into this?” I asked.

“I’ll have to make them,” she said. “I may not have kids, but I have a lot to lose also if the Judoon find out I witnessed this.”

“When do you want to meet again?” I asked.

The door to the pub burst open. A man with spiky dark hair, in a long coat with a blue shirt, swaggered in.

“I’m looking for information on the Doctor.”


	3. Chapter Three:

Jack:

Two years, three months, and five days. That is how long I have been tracing artron signatures around the universe. Yaz, Graham, and Ryan told me the Doctor sacrificed herself, but I didn’t believe it. The Doctor had cheated death too many times. Besides, I went to the planet myself and saw that a TARDIS was missing. I came to the conclusion that Coshamus sacrificed himself instead of the Doctor. My tech backed me up as I found traces of human DNA on the scene. The Doctor was alive.

It had been a long two years and change. Dying, getting injured, and more dying. There was the occasional jailbreak. Yaz wanted to come along, but I put my foot down. I didn’t like the idea of risking her life as she only had one. I also didn’t want to imagine the tongue-lashing I’d get from the Doctor, if one of her companions got hurt on my watch.

I nearly ran into the Doctor a couple times. As a he, both times. The problem was, I kept arriving too late. Artron energy was tricky that way. The Doctor had to be somewhere. I felt it in my bones.

On the edge of a part of the universe, I wasn’t familiar with, I landed my patchworked ship. I followed my readings, to a seedier section of the city on a rock, half the size of the Earth’s moon. I scanned the shack of a pub before entering. Two beings were soaked in old artron energy. Neither were the Doctor. They had to be companions. This was closest I had come to an actual lead.

I swaggered in.

“I’m looking for information on the Doctor,” I said.

A few people looked up, but then returned to their drinks in glasses that no health inspector would approve of. I pulled my device out and followed the readings to a pair of women, one with dark hair and another with purple, I recognize as being of the Lankian race.

I pulled up a seat.

“Hi ladies,” I said. “Which one of you is going to tell me where the Doctor is?”

“Doctor who?” the dark-haired one asked with a sneer.

“You’re funny,” I said. “But I’m not in the mood. Just tell where he or she is and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Who are you?” the purple-haired one asked in a slightly nicer tone.

I offered a hand.

“Jack Harkness,” I said with a winning smile. “How long did you travel with the Doctor?”

She gasped. The other one had a better poker face.

“Jack Harkness,” the dark-haired one said. “I’ve heard of you.”

“I’m honored,” I said.

“I heard there was a bounty on your head for stealing parts from a Dexterian. Why don’t I tell the whole pub who you are and watch you get ripped limb from limb as they fight to take you in.”

“Other people might be intimidated by that, but I’m not other people,” I said. “I’m going to find out exactly who you are and I won’t stop bothering you until I find out what you know about the Doctor.”

“The Doctor is dead,” she said angrily. “I watched him die on Gelfin. Go check.”

“Liar, liar,” I said. “The Doctor doesn’t die, and that was a very pithy attempt at trying to send me across the galaxy.”

“I don’t know where he is,” she said. “I haven’t seen him since he stranded us on Gelfin.”

I put elbows on the table and leaned into her space.

“I am much older than I look. I am also much better at seeing through lies than you are at telling them. I have been running around this galaxy for over two years looking for the Doctor. You’re going to tell me, one way or another.”

“Or I can blast your junk off,” she said.

I felt the shaft of a gun on my leg.

“Usually this kind of foreplay turns me on, but like I said, I’m really not in the mood,” I said.

“We could always tell him,” the purple-haired woman said.

“So, you’re the level-headed one,” I said turning to her. “What’s your name?”

“Nara,” she said. “This is Anna Lee. You’re looking for a woman, right?”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Anna Lee grumbled.

“I was an archaeologist on a dig site when I unearthed a strange artifact that nearly killed me. The Doctor rescued me and I asked if I could join her crew. Anna Lee is a British Astronaut who lost contact with her ship while on a spacewalk, and the Doctor heard her distress signal. We were traveling back to retrieve her current group of friends when the Judoon entered the TARDIS, and abducted her.”

“Where is her TARDIS?” I asked.

“In safekeeping with me,” I said. “I live close to the prison meteor called Kro Do forty-three. Anna Lee travels the cosmos looking for ways to break into the prison.”

I stared at her closely.

“You know the sign of a good liar? When just enough facts are mixed to confuse someone. I do believe you’re telling the truth about the Doctor being imprisoned by the Judoon.”

I stood up and faced Anna Lee.

“See the truth does set you free, of my presence.”

“Don’t bother us again,” she said. “Good luck finding weaknesses on that meteor. I’ve tried everything I can think of.”

“I haven’t met a prison I couldn’t break in or out of,” I said.

“Incineration is not an option,” she said.

I stared at her.

“I know your party trick,” Anna Lee said. “You’re immortal.”

“You do get around,” I said.

“I make due,” she said. “Now get out of our space. We both have shuttles to catch.”

I left, and quickly circled around to the side. The walls of the shack were thin.

“You’re the domesticated one, yet you managed to get him off our backs,” Anna Lee said.

“Don’t you remember the Doctor saying the secret to any good lie, is for there to be a kernel of truth,” Nara said.

“He’s full of odd sayings,” she said.

“Anna Lee, what are we going to do? This Jack Harkness character only complicates things, and I’m not convinced that is the last we’ve seen of him.”

“There are data banks dedicated to finding a way in an out of that prison. I can only think of two prisons in this universe that are more secure than Kro Do Forty-three. Jack will go mad before he finds a way of breaking her out. But we’ll find a way.”

“Jack aside then,” Nara said. “What do we do?”

“You go home to your husband and kids, while I come up with a plan,” she said.

“Will you keep me in the loop?” Nara asked.

“I promise to keep you informed. How many clients does the Doctor have?”

“Fourteen,” she said.

“Two days per client, let’s meet after the Doctor sees the Doctor again in two weeks. If I find something important before then, I’ll contact you.”

“Okay,” Nara said.

“I need another drink,” Ann Lee said.

“Safe travels,” Nara said.

“Safe travels,” she said back.

I ran around behind the shack.

Okay, I needed to sort through my objectives. One: find a way to spring the Doctor. Two: Find out who these women really are. Three: Discover more about the other Doctor.

I sighed. 

“Why can’t anything be simple with you, Doc?” I said out loud.


	4. Chapter Four

Dal:

I can’t stop dreaming of her. Most of her thoughts are sad. She wonders if she deserves to be imprisoned. I see other faces, all male, except one woman. And a child in front of a gate, she is obsessed with this child. I think this child used to be her.

“You aren’t sleeping well,” Nara said, after the third night of restless sleep.

I rubbed my eyes.

“This new case, I don’t know why it feels so personal. She won’t leave my head.”

“Maybe some sleeping meds wouldn’t hurt?” Nara said.

“You know I don’t like the way they fog my mind,” I said.

“You’re going to run yourself down though,” she said. “We can’t have you rundown.”

“I know, I just, I think I’ll take a deep dive into the case today. Maybe a few answers will bring me peace.”

A look of concern appeared on Nara’s face. She’s been acting odd lately. Checking her phone more frequently, a little harsher on the kids. Something about these actions read as fear. My wife was afraid something. What, I didn’t know, but I got the sense it might have to do with the Doctor case.

The kids bounced into the kitchen.

“Daddy don’t forget about my recital Friday,” Sem said. “I play the lead dancer this year.”

“And don’t forget I’m presenting at the science fair on Saturday,” Ese said. “My robot is going to win!”

“Like I would let your father forget about any of those things,” Nara said.

“But he has in the past,” Sem said.

“That was the past,” I said. “I’m trying to do better, and I won’t forget any of your special presentations, okay?”

They both nodded.

As much as I hated slumming it in Judoon court, I am a better father. I’d forget my kid’s events constantly. It was a mixed bag.

I grabbed my suitcase, hugged the kids, and kissed Nara. As I was about to leave, my eyes lingered on the hourglass. More than ever, I felt drawn to it. Another thing, I couldn’t explain.

Nara was watching me. I smiled assuredly and left. The world was tilting, and I was only beginning to understand how much it was.

…

I was going over the Doctor’s case when I noticed something odd in the medical records. For gender, it listed twenty letters. Most of them were M but a handful were F. Usually there was one or the other.

The only secretary in the Judoon court pool was an ancient Gastraineris woman named Peller. She hated my guts as I treated her like dirt the first year I was stuck down here. This promised not to be pleasant.

She had four orange arms and three feet. All four arms were busy on various computers.

“Hi Peller,” I said in my nicest tone.

“What do you want, Dal?” she asked irritably.

I held up the file with the gender notation.

“Is this a typo?” I asked.

She looked at it for half a second.

“You’ve got a Gallifreyan timelord for a client,” she said. “Usually they only regenerate twelve times. But I’m not up on the current data on Timelords, so I could be wrong.”

“Thanks,” I said and turned to walk to back to my cubicle.

“Make a FOIA request and the Judoon should give you the rest of the information they have on the other regenerations.”

I stopped and looked at her.

She didn’t miss a beat.

“I like telling you how to do your job. I’m busy now.”

“I won’t forget this, Peller,” I said.

She snorted and continued to work.

…

I met with a former mentor of mine for lunch that day while waiting for my information request to go through. The Judoon were obsessed with collecting information, I expected to have the rest of the file by the end of the day.

“So, what’s up?” Clarion asked as we settled in for a meal at a café.

Clarion was a Botelan, they lived to be about three hundred years old. He was two hundred now. He was one of the few lawyers who’d agree to be seen with me after my fall from grace. 

“You used to do work on Gallifrey,” I said. “You’re the only lawyer I could find who has any experience with Timelords.”

“Wow that is going back a hundred years,” he said. “They did not like outsiders. I was only invited as they needed a non-Gallifreyan to represent a foreign alien, per their laws.”

“What do you know about them?” I asked.

“Not much,” Clarion said. “What is this about?”

“I have a timelord as a client,” I said. “She doesn’t remember committing thing the crime. Could a previous incarnation be responsible?”

“This is Judoon court,” he said. “They only care about having someone in a cell for the crime committed. The thing about Timelords is, versions are constantly traveling throughout all of time and space. The Judoon probably picked her as she was the first version they could get ahold of. Judoon aren’t law enforcement at their core, they’re hunters.”

I sighed.

“How do I get her out?” I said.

Clarion raised an eyebrow.

“No offense, but you rarely care this much about your clients. What’s changed?”

“I feel connected to her, and I can’t explain why,” I said. “Nara’s been acting strange. It all feels like a puzzle I can’t put together.”

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Clarion said. “But be careful. The Judoon don’t hesitate to pull triggers. Make sure you know what you’re doing, or you might end up in big trouble.”

“Okay, legally,” I said. “What do I do if I find out another regeneration is at fault?”

“That’s a big if, but I’ll bite,” he said. “You’ll have to take the argument to the Judoon high court. Timelords usually remember their actions from previous regenerations, but ‘usual’ is the key word. You’re going to have to prove that regeneration is not responsible for actions of a previous persona.”

“I like my odds,” I said.

Clarion smiled.

“Take the hotshot out of the high court, and he’s still a hotshot. Even in the bowels of Judoon court.”

“Thanks, Clarion.”

“Just stay safe, okay?”

“I will.”

…

The file, I got was massive. It threatened to overwhelm my tablet. I decided to take it home with me.

Nara was dusting when I arrived.

“You’re home early,” she said.

“I thought I’d work better from home,” I said. “Save a plate of dinner for me for later. I’ll be in my office.”

She smiled. “It’s just us tonight. Ese is work on his robot with his friend overnight, and Sem is spending the night at her friend’s house, to go through last-minute changes to the program.”

“Okay,” I said and headed to my office.

I could hear Nara sighing. It might have been a fun night, but I had other things on my mind.

In my office, I began to take notes. Meer Telon was killed on the planet Hypaxia. I’d try to find anyone in the area at the time.  
It wasn’t exactly tedious reading, as the Doctor got into plenty of skirmishes. Saved civilizations, planets, Earth at least two dozen times. He/she defeated alien menaces. The known associates were mostly human, but a handful were alien, others were android. The way she looked changed dramatically over the years. There weren’t always photos though, sometimes it was just a sketch or height dimensions. It was interesting and overwhelming at the same time.

Three hours in, I found something. No picture, but a last known sighting on Elono, a moon/shuttle station of Hypaxia. He had curly red hair and was oddly my height. I guess an enemy recognized him, but he disappeared into the crowds with two women, who were his associates. Their names were…

I nearly fell over. It was starting to lock into place. Everything that had felt off, was leading to this, my connection to the Doctor. I left my office.

Nara waved from the kitchen.

“I was just about to bring you some dinner,” she said.

“Nara, what were you doing on Elono, ten years ago?” I asked.

She laughed. I could tell it was forced.

“That’s a long time ago.”

“Tell me!” I shouted.

“I was taking the shuttle to see my nan,” she said defensively.

“You lie too easily,” I said. “What are you hiding from me? Your nan lives south of Elono, you had no reason to be there.”

I turned and my eyes settled on the hour glass.

“Dal no!” Nara cried. “Think of the children!”

“All I can think of is that woman rotting away in jail for something I might have done. I can’t let that continue!”

“Since when do you care about fair play!?”

“Because it is who I am!” I shouted. “I feel it rippling through my skin. I can’t do this. I can’t let another version of me suffer.”

I grabbed the hourglass as Nara screamed. I flipped it over and embraced my past.

…

I found her sitting against the wall staring vacantly into space.

“Doctor,” I said kindly.

She didn’t react.

“Doctor you’re free,” I said. 

Again, she didn’t react.

I got on her level.

“Doctor, it’s okay. Nara has agreed take you in until my trial. She’s mad, but don’t mind her. In the end she knows this is the right thing to do.”

She looked into my eyes. The Doctor searched them, and slowly, realization came.

“You’re me?”

“Yes,” I said. “Now go. You’re free.”

“But I’m safe here,” she said. “Don’t make me go!”

The Judoon appeared and dragged her out.

“No!” she screamed. “NO!”

I sighed.

“You could have given me a little more time,” I said.

They slammed the door on me in response.

I took the place of the Doctor against the wall. This was the right thing to do. It was who I was. Everything would be sorted out. I didn’t doubt it. I was the Doctor.


	5. Chapter Five

Nara:  
I hated him. I hated him. Oh, how I hated him. He ruined our lives! Everything I fought to preserve was over. I had no idea what was going to happen next.  
As I puffed with rage in the waiting area in the Judoon prison, two of the brutes appeared. The Judoon shoved out a woman. Her hair was cut close to the scalp, and she fell to her knees. This was the Doctor.

I knelt beside her.

“Doctor,” I said. “I’m Nara. I’m going to take you home with me.”

She didn’t move.

“I can’t leave,” she said. “I’m not allowed. I’ve been a bad person. I belong in prison.”

Two Judoon appeared.

“Sho Do Ko!” they shouted menacingly.

I grabbed her arm.

“Come on, Doctor.”

She acted as if I had set her on fire. The Doctor got up and scurried away from me.

My rage dissipated. This was a woman who had been through Hell. She needed to be released. Maybe Dal’s strategy was better than whatever Anna Lee was working on.

“Doctor,” I said in a gentler tone. “This way.”

Keeping an arm’s length from me, she followed. We walked in silence to where Dal had parked the vehicle. At first the Doctor, wouldn’t get in.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Come.”

She slowly got in. I drove the vehicle out of the car park and headed for the main passage. The Doctor who looked terrified, even as I drove at slow speeds. Whenever I glanced at her, I saw she was shaking and constantly moving her head in different directions.

At first the Doctor wouldn’t get out when I we arrived.

“Doctor, come,” I said.

She then darted out as if I had ordered her.

I held the door open, for her. The Doctor stepped in, and looked around.

“You have a lovely home,” she said blankly and then added: “That’s the right thing to say, right?”

“Thank you,” I said. “Would like some tea?”

The Doctor was looking at photos.

“You have children,” she said.

“Yes,” I said. “They’re sleeping at friend’s houses.”

She looked me in the eye for the first time.

“I’m sorry.”

“None of this is your fault,” I said. “Dal, my Doctor, did kill a man. But it was in self-defense, and he’ll prove it in court.”

“You have a family, you don’t deserve this,” she said rapidly and turned away. “I should be the one in prison.”

“Do you travel with anyone?” I asked.

“They think I’m dead.”

“Not Jack Harkness,” I said.

Her head bolted up.

“Jack?” she said.

“He found us, Anna Lee and I somehow. He figured out we were connected to the Doctor, my Doctor.”

“Artron energy tracer,” she muttered to herself. “Do you know where he went?”

“To find a way to break you out, I’m guessing,” I said.

“I don’t understand,” the Doctor said.

“I may have lied about how we were connected to you to conceal my husband. But he knows or thinks right now, you’re in Judoon prison.”

The Doctor rubbed her head.

“This whole thing is giving me a headache,” she moaned.

“It gets so confusing at times,” I said. “Can I offer you something to drink? Tea? Ale?”

“You don’t have to be nice to me,” she said. “You just lost your husband. The father of your children. You’re probably furious with me.”

“I was,” I said. “But I see in front of me a shattered woman. You didn’t deserve to be locked up like that. Dal, my Doctor will figure things out.”

The Doctor yawned.

“I’ll set up the day bed for you,” I said.

She took off her coat and sat on the floor by the fireplace.

“I’m okay, here,” she said and curled up. “You probably have important phone calls to make. Don’t worry about me.”

“Doctor,” I said.

“Nara, you’ve been too kind already. Do what you need to do. I’ll be right here.”

In a matter of minutes, she was fast asleep under her coat. She looked miserable. There were deep lines of pain etched into her face. I had to pull away or I wouldn’t be able to stop looking at the remains of the Doctor. 

I climbed the stairs and went into my bedroom to call Anna Lee.

“This better be important,” she said. “I’m in a very dangerous situation.”

“Dal is in prison,” I said. “He figured it out from Judoon records. He flipped the arch and voluntarily went in. The blond female Doctor is sleeping by my fireplace.”

“Holy Hell, Nara,” Anna Lee said.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“I’m in a databank to find out who ordered the Doctor on to the Doctor’s case.”

I heard another voice in the background.

“Nara, I’m putting you on speaker phone, our favorite pain in the arse is back.”

“You know what they say about great minds,” Jack Harkness said.

“The Judoon Delta databank is massive,” Anna Lee said. “Jack, help me and I’ll tell you whole truth about everything.” 

“How I do know you will this time?” Jack asked.

“Because the stakes have been raised. Nara, I’ll call you when I have something in a few hours.”

“Okay,” I said and hung up.

I went downstairs to check on the Doctor. She was shaking and whimpering. Dashing back upstairs, I pulled out some spare bed linens and went back down. I gently wrapped her in the blankets. The Doctor continued to whimper. It was clear she was having nightmares. My maternal instincts were kicking in as I watched her. I had to do something.

Pulling out a teakettle, I made some of special Lankian brew tea. It had a calming effect on my kids. I sat beside her with a cup and watched as her nose sniffed the air. Her whimpering slowly faded. The breath I had been holding without realizing it, I finally let out.

Grabbing more blankets, and my phone, I went to bed on the couch. I watched the Doctor sleep. Part of her was my husband. For all my rage at the start of the night, I felt for this woman who was a version of the person I loved.


	6. Chapter Six

Jack:

The databank was a maze. Anna Lee and I moved cautiously around, careful of traps, looking for the drive labeled “three six nine one.”

“So, your Doctor committed the murder in self-defense, that my Doctor is accused of,” I said. “And he has been married to Nara for ten years while under the influence of the chameleon arch.”

“Right,” Anna Lee said as we climbed a ladder to another level.

“And the Doctor as Dal, was assigned to defend my Doctor.”

“You catch on quick,” she said irritably.

“It’s a lot to unravel,” I said. 

She stopped for a second.

“I told you, your Doctor is with Nara,” she said. “You can go to her, and get her as far away from this mess as possible.”

“I’m not leaving without answers,” I said. “So there are eighteen Doctors?”

“What are you, a paroto?” she asked as we pulled more drives. “At least eighteen Doctors. I’m inclined to believe there are even more we don’t know of.”

“To my knowledge there were only thirteen,” I said. “I’ve been around the universe a bit. I thought I would know if there were more.”

“The universe is rather large, in case you haven’t noticed,” she said. “My understanding is that many of the Doctors are in hiding. Some have discovered a life as a Timelord isn’t worth living, so they willingly take the chameleon arch to live a relatively normal life.”

“Can I ask you something else?” I said.

“Shoot,” she said.

“Why are you so angry?” 

She continued to check drives.

“Dillon was the only man I ever loved,” she said. “I’ve traversed this universe backwards and forwards, and I haven’t found anyone who has his spark. His zest for life. Finding out the Judoon want to punish the Doctor for the death of his murderer makes me want to set a planet on fire.”

“I get it,” I said.

“The drive should be one level up,” she said after looking at one.

We climbed another ladder.

“So, you’ve spent two years looking for her,” Anna Lee said. “Why?”

“Because my world needs her,” I said. “He/she has been saving the earth as long as I can remember.”

“My Doctor wasn’t particularly interested in Earth,” she said. “He liked exploring the ancient ruins of planets. Which is how he met Nara.”

We began looking through the drives. After another ten minutes, we finally got a lead.

“It’s within this block,” she said.

She and I sorted through until we reached the middle.

“Got it,” she said. “Now let’s see what you have to say.”

She pulled out a device that resembled an iPhone and plugged it into the drive. I settled beside her to get a closer look.

Anna Lee slowly scrolled through the data. Something caught my eye.

“Stop,” I said.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Does that word look familiar to you?”

“It does but I can’t place it,” she said.

“That is the name of a Dalek,” I said.

“Sek,” she said. “He-it is listed as the identifier of the Doctor. Who instructed the Judoon to arrest the Doctor. This data was only added three years ago.”

“Anna Lee,” I said. “Would your Doctor have known anything special about the Daleks?”

“I don’t think so,” she said. “Why?”

“Maybe that’s why they wanted Dal on the case,” I said. “To get him to break the arch to reveal the data he might have found off Meer Telon.”

She suddenly pulled out another device.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Acting on a bad hunch,” she said.

“Care to elaborate a little?” I said.

“What do you know about Lankians?” she asked.

“They have purple hair and are on the verge of extinction,” I said. 

“The Lankians I’ve met are warrior-like,” she said. “They value survival above everything. The women have strong maternal instincts, and will do anything to protect their kids. Oh…my…god.”

Anna Lee stumbled.

I grabbed her arm to steady her.

“What is it?”

“I hacked Nara’s phone. She’s been in communication with this Dalek. She sent her kids to family across the galaxy.”

“I don’t understand,” I said. “She framed my Doctor in hopes of entrapping her Doctor? This is too confusing.”

“Look at the texts.”

I read them out loud.

“We gave you ten years. Time to give us the Doctor and his memories of Meer Telon’s master plans.”

There was a brand new one.

“Kill the female blonde. We only want your Doctor.” 

Anna Lee grabbed the device and raced ahead.

“We’ll take my ship,” she said. “I don’t trust yours to get to the next moon.”

“I could go to my Doctor and you could to yours,” I said.

“I don’t go to Judoon prison with even a half-arsed plan,” she said. “Besides yours is in more immediate danger.”

“Okay,” I said.

She texted.

“I just told her not to move as I had information to save Dal.”

We quickly climbed down ladders.

“Was this a long con?” I asked. “The murders, everything, just for children?”

“Timelord children,” she said. “Sem has Timelord DNA. Ese doesn’t, but Lankians value men more anyway.”

Okay, her ship was in considerably better shape. 

“You steal this?” I asked.

“I have friends,” she said. “Friends who actually, owe ME.”

“Must be nice,” I said.

“I hope you’re used to warp drive,” Anna Lee said.

“I had a light lunch,” I said.

She flipped a switch and I held on tight.

Warp drive was like having your head put in a blender, except less loud and more painful. I rarely used it for short trips. Focusing on the Doctor, I tried to breathe.

It was over in less than thirty seconds. We glided over a planned development. Anna Lee flipped the radar screen on. I saw a figure on the floor and then another one holding something against it.

Anna Lee shot the figure. The house exploded. She landed the vehicle in the street and we both jumped out.

“Doctor!” I shouted “DOCTOR!”

We moved through the wreckage. Neighbors peered out.

I saw movement by a cluster of broken masonry. I tossed aside a debris and Anna Lee helped me. The Doctor and Nara were together.

I felt the Doctor’s neck for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there.

“Nara?” I asked.

“I didn’t kill her,” she said. “She’s knocked out.”

I turned the Doctor over. She moaned and opened her eyes.

“Jack?” she slurred.

“Despite my good looks, I’m not an angel,” I said. “I’m real.”

She tried to smile.

“Jack.”

“Carry her while, I take Nara,” Anna Lee said as she dragged Nara.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I picked up the Doctor.

We went into the backyard. She shot the lock off.

I realized what she was doing and helped. We threw the shelving away and Anna Lee used the Nara’s finger to operate the scanner. The TARDIS appeared.

We threw open the doors. I dragged the Doctor in and Anna Lee dragged Nara in.

“I’m trying to understand why she dragged you into all this,” I said.

“I check in regularly,” I said. “Isn’t there an Earth saying about keeping your friends and close and your enemies closer?”

“Right,” he said.

I sat beside the Doctor. Her clothes were ripped, and dust covered her face. I gently rubbed my hand against her face. She smiled and then tears leaked down.

“I’m a mess,” she whispered.

“I’m here Doctor,” I said. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Anna Lee began to flip switches.

“You know how to fly the TARDIS?” I said.

“I thought every companion did,” she said.

An eerily familiar voice echoed through the TARDIS. 

“We will get what we want. You cannot stop us! The revolution of the Daleks will commence!”

The Doctor suddenly lurched forward.

“I will not let you hurt them,” she moaned. “I am not in my best form, but I will die before I stand down to you. Every being in this universe is in under MY protection. I might not look like much, but I’ll fight with every breath to stop you!”

I caught her as she collapsed. 

“Then you will die!”


	7. Chapter Seven

Dal:

The TARDIS materialized in my cell. I rushed in. Anna Lee quickly phased it out of the Judoon prison.

“Nice work,” I said.

“I learned from the best,” she said with a smile.

“Where are we going?” a man in a long military coat asked.

“I recognize my wife/traitor and the Doctor I sprung. Who’s this fella?”

“Jack Harkness,” he said waving as he knelt beside the Doctor.

Both my traitorous wife and the Doctor were covered in debris.

“Anna Lee, did you blow up my house?” I asked.

“Nara was on the verge of killing her,” she said. “I had no choice.”

“I’m glad I paid off the mortgage then,” I said.

“So, what do you know that the Daleks want?” Anna Lee asked.

“Meer Telon was a cyberpath,” I said. “When I checked him for a pulse, all the plans he was smuggling for the Daleks were absorbed into me.”

“I don’t get it,” Jack said. “Why wait ten years to extract it? Why not try to directly abduct you instead of dragging mine into this mess.”

“The chemical weapon they’re building takes ten years to become stable,” I said. “Your Doctor was dragged into this as they weren’t convinced Nara would keep up her end of the bargain.”

As of on cue, she started to move. I knelt beside her.

“Hi dear,” I said. “Care to explain what the Hell you’ve been up to?”

“I just wanted us to be a family,” she mumbled.

“You got Dillon killed and made a deal with the Daleks!” Anna Lee shouted.

“Dillon wasn’t supposed to die,” she said. 

“What were you expecting?” I asked.

“I thought I staged it right,” she said. “I was supposed to take the shot as I could survive that kind of wound. It would force the Doctor to kill Telon and for us to go into hiding, with the knowledge the Daleks to recover in ten years. Dillon got in the way.”

“Then you were expecting me to hand over the knowledge in ten years to a genocidal race?” I said.

“They gave me a tool to extract it with,” she said. “Oh Dal, if only you weren’t so brilliant.”

“My name is Doctor,” I said harshly and stood up.

I turned to Anna Lee.

“Where are you taking us?”

“To the edge of a star going supernova,” she said. “Only the strongest Dalek ships can survive that.”

I clapped my hands together.

“So, who has a plan?”

“The Dalek data extractor,” the Doctor said sluggishly. “I had one on my TARDIS. Maybe you have one too.”

“I wouldn’t know where to begin looking,” I said.

“TARDISes are intuitive,” Anna Lee said. “Is it possible if we let her work the controls, she’d find it?”

“It’s worth a shot,” I said.

Jack helped her to her feet and she examined the console. Slowly, she pressed a few buttons and flipped a switch. A light turned in a corridor, and a cart   
rolled forward. It contained what looked like an ear trumpet.

“That’s it,” she said.

“What do we do with the information?” Anna Lee said.

“Send it into the supernova,” I said.

“NO!” Nara screamed. “Our children will be hunted if we don’t give it the Daleks. Think of Sem and Ese.”

“You should have thought of them before you made a deal with the Daleks!” I roared.

I plunged the device into my ear and walked to the door. 

“Doctor!” the Doctor shouted.

There was a zapping sound. I turned around to see the Doctor had collapsed on the floor with Nara holding a tiny gun.

“No!” Jack cried and held her.

Anna Lee pulled out a gun.

“Don’t kill her…yet,” I said.

Anna Lee shot Nara anyway. She froze in place.

“It’s on stun,” she said.

I knelt beside the Doctor.

She began to glow and Jack burst into tears. He gently kissed her on the cheek. The glowing stopped.

“What are you?” I asked.

“Rendered immortal by a companion who stared into the heart of the TARDIS and revived me from the dead,” he said.

The Doctor began to stir.

“What happened?”

“Jack’s tears, stopped the regeneration,” I said.

“I’ve got Daleks on the TARDIS radar,” Anna Lee said.

“Hey Doctor, have you ever collapsed a supernova into a black hole and ride it to the other side of the galaxy?” I asked.

“Are you mad?” she said as her eyes widened.

“Yes,” I said. “Move over Anna Lee, time for Daddy to do some magic.”

“Okay this sounds crazy, even for you,” Anna Lee said.

“The alternative is giving weapon information to Daleks. I like my plan better. Hold on folks!”

I flipped switches and pressed buttons calmly. I knew what I was doing, I had done this before.

Everyone but Nara and I began to scream. We spun like a top. Everyone fell off their feet, but me. It was truly thrilling. I pulled out buckets just as we stopped moving.

The Doctor threw up first, followed by Jack, and Anna Lee.

Ann Lee tucked her hair back.

“I don’t suppose you know where we landed?” 

“I don’t care,” I said. “We’re away from the Daleks.”

“Your kids?” she said.

“They’re with Nara’s people,” I said. “They’ll be safe with them so long they’re still hunting me. One problem at a time.”

“Let’s see where you landed this thing,” Anna Lee said.

“In one piece, I might add,” I said.

Anna Lee opened the door. I sniffed the air.

“Sheffield, in the year twenty-twenty-two,” I said. “Not a bad time or place to land.”

Three people, two men and a woman, came rushing forward. I recognized the energy signatures on them. The looks on their faces suggested hope and anxiety. 

I smiled at them.

“She’s in there.”

They ran in.

“Doctor!” the woman cried.

“Fam,” she said weakly

The trio too turns hugging her.

Anne Lee approached me.

“You didn’t plan this, did you?” she said. "You couldn't have."

“I wish I did,” I said. “But even, I’m not that good.”

There was a whirring sound and suddenly, Daleks ships filled the skies.

“GIVE US THE DATA DOCTOR!”

“Well, that was not part of the plan, for sure,” I said with a sigh.


	8. Chapter Eight

Doctor:

It was so good to see the fam. But we had other more pressing issues.

“Dal,” I said. “Do you mind if my friends call you Dal? There being two Doctors in one TARDIS is kind of messy.”

“Wait,” Ryan said turning to Dal. “You’re the Doctor too?”

“Yes,” he said. “It’s all a little confusing. I don’t really want to be called Dal, but I’ll take it. We have bigger problems.”

“One moment,” Graham said. “Are you Anna Lee Fulton? The missing astronaut?”

“Yes,” she said with an impatient sigh.

“You haven’t aged in over thirty years.”

“I got in an accident involving a suspended animation chamber,” she said irritably. “We can talk about it another time.”

“Right,” I said. “Dal, Doctor, I have an idea.”

“What is it?” he said.

“Give me the data and I’ll corrupt it. Then I’ll send it back to you to give to the Daleks.”

“That sounds complicated,” Dal said. “You haven’t had many chances to use your brain over the last two years while in solitary confinement for most of that time. Not to mention you were nearly killed twice in the past six hours.”

“What!?” Yaz said.

The sound of the Dalek ships grew louder.

“Doctor, listen,” I said. “I can do this. You’re a fast-talking manipulator. You’re good with charming people. It’s what made you a good lawyer. You like taking crazy risks to prove your abilities. I’m none of that. I’m all science and code. I can reconfigure the data.”

“We really don’t have many other options,” Anna Lee said.

“This could hurt you,” Dal said.

“I’m rather fond of planet Earth,” I said. “I’ll take the risk.”

He still didn’t look certain.

“I’m the Doctor,” I said. “I’m you. We can do this.”

“Okay,” he said finally.

He put his hands to the sides of my head. I closed my eyes.

The plans rushed to me. I focused on the details. The chemical equations needed to be adjusted. Another variable added. One new element here. Subtract a coefficient. They kept flying through my mind. I fought to focus. Multiply the sub-fractal. Divide the common denominator. Rework the bilateral structure. Add more elements of sub-particle D.

I slowly lifted my hands. I was focusing so hard on restructuring the Data, I could barely breathe. The Doctor guided my hands to his temples. Resending the data, I added more changes. I tried to make sure he got all the information. With the last biometric parameters sent, I collapsed.

“You did good Doctor,” Jack said as he caught me.

I began to breathe heavily. My body was completely exhausted.

“Is she going to be okay?” Yaz asked.

“Do you still have a comfy couch, Graham?” I asked breathlessly.

“You can stay there as long you like,” he said.

“First we have Daleks to deal with,” Dal said. “If I give it to them easily, they’ll suspect a trap. What do I do?”

“Negotiate terms,” Anna Lee said. “Safety for your family and they’ll leave you the Hell alone.”

“What about earth?” Ryan asked.

“I never cared for this place personally,” he said. “If I negotiate for Earth’s safety, they might get angry.”

“Well that will change,” I said angrily. 

“Sure,” he said and walked to the door with the ear trumpet. “You lot stay here. Let’s see if this works.”

Anna Lee set up a monitor. Jack laid me on the floor. I moaned.

“I’m never doing that again.”

“Leave my family alone!” Dal could be heard saying. “I want nothing to do with you after this. Do we have a deal?”

“You try our patience Doctor!” they said. “Give us the data and you get to live in one piece.”

He huffed.

“Fine.”

There was an unearthly screech as the data flew like smoke from the ear trumpet. It hit the Daleks. Nothing happened at first. Then silence. It started to rain.

“You turned the Daleks into water?” Anna Lee said, turning to me.

“The formulas were hydrogen-based so it wasn’t much of a stretch,” I said.

“Is it at all toxic?” Ryan asked.

“Anything toxic about it will burn off in the higher elevations.”

Dal appeared.

“Great,” he said. “Now I’m wet.”

He turned and smiled.

“Brilliant work Doctor.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“Let’s get you someplace a little more comfortable,” he said.

“I have a spare bedroom Ryan uses from time to time,” Graham said.

“To your house then,” Dal said.

“Um Dal,” Anna Lee said. “What about your wife?”

“I’m delivering her to the Judoon after we settle the Doctor in,” he said.

“What about your kids?” I asked.

“I got a text from Nara’s mother on my way to face the Daleks,” he said. “They’re fine. Just anxious to see Dad.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Anna Lee asked.

“One thing at a time,” he said.

…

Graham showed me his spare bedroom and I promptly laid on the floor. I closed my eyes but did not sleep as he shut the door.

I could hear them talking.

“I don’t know what your Doctor was like, but she is not who she was two years ago,” Dal said. “Solitary confinement messes with the head. I saw it in a lot of my clients.”

“So, you were hiding out as a lawyer?” Graham said.

“Yes,” he said. “She’s going to react differently to stimuli. She won’t like being touched all the time. Expect nightmares. There will be times when she’s irritable, don’t take it personally. Force her to eat, and don’t buy any excuse that timelords don’t eat. We do, just not as much. Keep meals simple for a while. She might get mad and claim she doesn’t need to be babied. The truth is, after living in isolation for two years, she needs companionship and assurance that she isn’t alone.”

“Is that all?” Yaz asked.

“She probably hasn’t told you this. I saw it in her mind as it was close to the surface. I thought I was a Timelord from Gallifrey. I’m not, she’s not. We’re two of twenty total regenerations documented by Judoon. We were adopted by a Gallifreyan, who found us as a child on the edge of the universe. We were experimented on and our DNA was spliced to create the Timelords. Our memory has been wiped and manipulated numerous times.”

“That’s what the Master showed her,” Yaz said.

“Wow,” Anna Lee said. “What are you going to do with the information?”

“Honestly, wipe it from my mind,” he said. “Anna Lee, I want to go back to being Dal, until my kids are old enough to learn who I am. Can I trust you with the chameleon arch?”

“Do I have to put down roots?” she asked.

“I was thinking I could hire you,” he said. “You could be my PI.”

She laughed. 

“With what money?”

“Oh, the TARDIS has a piggy bank that can finance you.”

“Wait, the TARDIS is loaded?” Ryan said. “Do you think the Doctor can loan me some money?”

“Not cash, Ilodium,” Dal said.

“That’s worth more,” Anna Lee said excitedly.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said. “I’ll transport the Doctor’s TARDIS over here. But first, I want to check on her.”

He quietly opened the door and knelt by my side.

“I know you heard everything I said. You’re going to be okay. It looks like you made some good friends here. Take care Doctor.”

I opened my eyes and slowly lifted my hand.

“Thank you,” I managed to whisper.

He held it and kissed it.

“Thank you.”

He silently left. 

Of the many faces I carried, I knew Dal was going to be one of my favorites, from here on out.


	9. Chapter Nine

Jack:

I knocked on the door of Graham’s guest bedroom.

“Enter,” the Doctor said.

I opened it and found the Doctor sitting cross-legged on the bed.

“How are you today?” I asked.

“This is the second night I’ve slept in the bed,” she said. “That’s an improvement from three days ago, right?”

“You still aren’t talking much,” I said.

“I haven’t had much practice over the last two years.”

“You aren’t talking about the Timeless Child revelation.”

“Jack,” she said with a sigh. “To know who you were has been corrupted, is a lot to take in. I know I am more than my origins. I don’t know how to talk about it.”

“Start now,” I said, taking a seat on the bed.

“I can’t,” the Doctor said. “It’s too painful.”

“That’s why I’m here,” I said.

“Prison, the Master, nearly getting killed a few times last week,” she said. “My head’s in knots.”

“I’m not leaving, Doctor. We need to talk.”

“You’ve never talked much about your feelings,” she said with an edge.

“Don’t try to change the subject. This is about you, not me,” I said.

“What do you want me to say? That I am petrified of my own mind? The idea that there so many versions of me flying through the universe, I may never know about, is insane. I am more alone than I ever imagined. I can’t stay in the shower for more than two minutes because that is how long the Judoon gave, me and I never felt clean enough. I’m a mess Jack! How about that?”

“I’d say that is a start,” I said.

She hugged her arms.

“I remember you used to be very love dovey when you had spikey hair,” I said.

“Touch doesn’t feel right,” she said. “Not to this body. I just, I’m afraid. I think I am adjusting to being a woman.”

“You don’t have to be afraid around me,” I said and offered my hand.

She slowly extended her hand out to hold it. It was a gentle grip.

“You don’t have to be afraid of me Doctor,” I said.

Tears leaked down her face.

“I know,” she said. “They didn’t violate me Jack. The just beat me. They made me feel less like a person. They made feel like a body, a number, something not worthy of attention or love.”

“You have all that here,” I said.

“I don’t want pity,” the Doctor said. “I don’t want to be a burden on anyone. I feel so lost in my own head. Will the universe ever make sense again?”

“Did it ever to begin with?” I asked with a smile.

“It did to me,” she said sadly. “It was magnificent. Now everything is one big question. How do I move on?”

“Slowly,” I said. “With friends. We want to be by your side if you’d let us.”

“I’m not sure I can.”

“Try,” I said. “Try for us. Try for yourself. Try because it will help you move forward.”

“I’m not used to being this scared,” she said.

“I know. You’ll feel braver with us by your side.”

The Doctor didn’t say anything. She began to shake.

“Let me hold you,” I said. “Let me make you feel safe again.”

She shook her head violently and wouldn’t look me in the eye.

“I won’t hurt, you. I’m your friend. I love you Doctor.”

The Doctor began to rock. She nearly teetered off the bed. I caught her.

She broke into sobs that shook her whole body. I held on to her tightly. My shoulder grew wet. Her body slowly slackened. The Doctor fell asleep in my arms.

I held onto her for a few minutes. Then I rested her on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Before I left, I kissed her on the cheek. As I closed the door, I hear her speak.

“Thank you,” she mumbled with her eyes closed.

“Your welcome, Doctor,” I said softly and left.

…

I had tea with her friends a while later.

“Two years in solitary is a lot of mental damage,” Yaz said.

“Will she ever be herself again?” Ryan asked.

“I don’t care if she’s different,” Graham said. “I just want to see her happy again.”

“I think you will,” I said. “It is just going to take time. She’s working hard to get back to feeling like herself. It is a process.”

“Why is it she trusts you more than the rest of us?” Ryan asked.

“I’ve seen her darker side,” I said. “I also know what it’s like to be imprisoned. I can relate to her better. I know you don’t like hearing this. These are just facts.”

No one said anything in response.

“I know this must be frustrating for you. I’m trying for you. I’m trying to get her to open up and trust that you can also help her. Nothing about this is easy.”

“I trust you Jack,” Yaz said.

“I feel like we don’t have much of a choice, but to trust you,” Ryan said.

“I think we need you,” Graham said.

“We’re a team,” I said. “We going to help the Doctor feel well again.”

“Go team,” Ryan said dully.

I sighed. Everyone was frustrated. But I doubted no one was more frustrated than the Doctor.

…

I had taken my usual spot on Graham’s couch for the night when I heard screaming. I ran to Doctor’s room.

A portal had opened and two hooded figures draped in gold were beckoning the Doctor forward.

“Come home,” they said in a haunting echo voice. “Come back to where you belong. You’ve suffered enough in this universe.”

The Doctor was braced against the farthest wall.

“No!” she shouted. “I don’t belong to you.”

“You heard the Time Lady,” I said pulling a gun out. “Leave her alone!”

My gun flew out of my grip and to the floor.

“She is not who you think she is,” they said. “She is an architect of the universe. Let us show you.”

She screamed as she suddenly began to glow.

“Doctor fight it!” I shouted. “Fight for who you are. Remember! You are not the timeless child. You are the Doctor!

She moved her arm forward and shot gold light at the figures. 

“I know who I am!” she shouted. “I don’t want my memories back. I chart my own path. I AM THE DOCTOR!”

Then she grabbed the figures and tossed them into the portal as she glowed.

The glowing faded and the portal closed.

“Hey,” I said lightly. “Your hair grew back.”

“It’s a little longer than I would have liked,” she said as she examined it. “But that’s what scissors are for.”

“Do you need a hug?” I said opening my arms.

“I could have gone back to where I came from,” she said thoughtfully. “I could have found more answers.”

“But you liked what you had here,” I said.

“I can’t abandon you,” the Doctor said. “I can’t abandon my fam.”

“Now I feel like I’m the one who needs a hug,” I said.

She hugged me.

“You know, I think I’m going to be alright. I haven’t thought that in a long time, but I believe it.”

I hugged her tightly.

“That’s what I want to hear.”

…

We had a picnic where Ryan would try to ride his bike.

“I can’t say I won’t try to shut you out,” the Doctor told Yaz, Ryan, and Graham. “I can’t say I won’t be irritable or on edge from time to time. This is the new normal. If you don’t like it, I understand.”

“No one is leaving you, Doctor,” Yaz said.

“I may not travel as often with you, but I’ll always leave the light on for you,” Graham said.

“I think I’m done traveling, but I’ll never stop caring about you,” Ryan said.

“You’re my fam,” she said. “I love you.”

I raised a cup.

“Cheers to family!” I said.

“To family!” everyone said.

We clinked cups.


	10. Chapter Ten

Nara:

All I wanted was a family. Now I’m paying for it. Dal told me he planned go back under the chameleon arch to raise the kids. He said he’d never visit me again.

My family visits occasionally. They do not hide their disappointment. I try to explain my actions, but they refuse to hear it. The kids are doing fine apparently and Dal has a new job. I wish they could understand.

I wanted to be happy with the Doctor. I was willing to go to great lengths to do so. Even making some dangerous enemies. I thought it was the price for love.

Occasionally, I question my actions. I wouldn’t be in a Judoon prison for up twenty years. There might have been another way. I’m not convinced though. Happiness has a cost, and I should not be paying for it here.

I think of the female Doctor. How I hate her! If only I had killed off the minute she was in my vehicle. But I took pity on the creature, and couldn’t bring myself to harm her until it was too late. Motherhood had made me soft.

Dal will always be the love of my life. Even now, I can’t entirely hate him. He is the father of my children after all. I miss Sem and Ese. The future for me is set in this rock. It may change, but for now, all I have is time to think of what went wrong.

…

Anna Lee:

I met with Jack, three months after my Doctor had rescued his Doctor.

“I’m glad you picked a nicer place,” Jack said.

We were in a café on a planet where the sun never set for most of the year. It was a bright airy place. I thought it seemed fitting compared to the last place we met in terms of being the complete opposite. 

“How is your Doctor?” I asked.

“She’s doing better,” Jack said. “Still gets nervous in tight spaces. It takes prodding to get her to open up about her feelings. She’s picked up a couple new friends. All things considered she’s doing well.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” I said.

“How’s your’s?” he asked.

“Happy,” I said. “He used a sudden inheritance he found to go into private practice. Dal picks his own hours for work and seems to enjoy being a single dad. The arch has him convinced Nara died and Nara’s family is okay with that. They say that is better than the alternative.”

“And you?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” I said dismissively. “Dal and I are essentially partners. He trusts me implicitly. It’s not that different from our original partnership. I’ve gotten to know his kids better and they like to call me Auntie Lee.”

“Can I ask you something?” Jack said.

“What is it?”

“You were back on earth for the first time forty years. Did you think about staying?”

“No,” I said easily. “My family thinks I’m dead. Most of my friends are now much older with their own lives. I prefer life among the stars.”

“I see,” he said.

“So, are you a full-time companion now?”

“Not quite,” he said. “I travel a lot with her, but then I make my own side trips. I always find a way back to her though. I’m in this for the long haul.”

“Do you think we could meet occasionally?” I asked. “To compare notes on our Doctors and keep them out of each other’s way.”

“I’d like that,” he said. “I like you too.”

I blushed.

“You’re growing on me.”

“I’ll take it,” he said. “So where are you keeping the chameleon arch these days?”

I pulled a fob watch out from around my neck.

“The chain is indestructible. Dal thinks it’s just a cute accessory.”

“Interesting,” Jack said. “I better get going. Until next time, Anna Lee.”

He leaned over and lightly kissed me on the cheek. I rewarded him with a smile. Jack winked and left.

I think Jack and I are meant to be friends (and possibly more) for a long time. I’m glad we met, and I’m glad he didn’t give up. It was nice to have a companion in the journey of being a companion to the Doctor.

…

Dal:

Sometimes, I look at the stars and wonder if I belong among them. Then I look at Sem and Ese and realize I am exactly where I belong.

The stars will always be there for me. I have two beautiful children to look after. They are bright, precocious, and full of life. I don’t need the stars when I see brilliant light emanating from them.

I miss Nara sometimes. But she betrayed me and people died. My understanding is she died as a result of her actions. It is sad on so many levels. The kids miss her and I comfort them. I try to remember her as the mother of my children, and not as a monster.

I love my current line of work. Every day is different, whether it be a will, or divorce filing. I’ll never be king of the courtroom again, and that is fine. My PI and I get along great. I sense Anna Lee knows more about me than she lets on, and the fob watch she wears is beautiful. The thing is, I’ve learned some questions are better left unanswered, when there is so much else to the universe.

There are nights where I dream of a woman with extremely short hair. She used to be scared, but now she isn’t. She smiles at me. I feel a connection to her. I doubt I will ever meet her, but her presence in my dreams is enough.

One day my world will change again, of this I am certain. Until that time comes though, I am happy to shuttle the kids from extracurriculars, help with homework, and make sure chores are done. I’m a dad and there is no other title I prefer more. Not even Doctor or Defender.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was fun. Thanks for reading. Please consider dropping a comment.


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